In any action brought under Section 57-12-8 NMSA 1978, if the court finds that a person is willfully using or has willfully used a method, act or practice declared unlawful by the Unfair Practices Act, the attorney general, upon petition to the court, may recover, on behalf of the state of New Mexico, a civil penalty of not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation.
History: 1953 Comp., § 49-15-9, enacted by Laws 1970, ch. 38, § 2.
ANNOTATIONSRepeals and reenactments. — Laws 1970, ch. 38, § 2, repeals 49-15-9, 1953 Comp., relating to the civil penalty for violation of Sections 3 and 5 of the act, and enacts the above section.
Willfully defined. — The legislature contemplated proof of some culpable mental state to demonstrate "willfully", as set forth in 57-12-11 NMSA 1978; willful conduct is the intentional doing of an act with knowledge that harm may result. Atherton v. Gopin, 2015-NMCA-003, cert. granted, 2014-NMCERT-012.
Law reviews. — For article, "Consumer Class Actions Under the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act," see 4 N.M.L. Rev. 49 (1973).
For note, "State Securities Law: A Valuable Tool for Regulating Investment Land Sales," see 7 N.M.L. Rev. 265 (1977).